Easter

We had several weeks of focused reflection on the life of Jesus and the heart of the Gospel leading up to Good Friday. Then, Easter Sunday was a fantastic, joy-filled celebration of our risen Savior!!! We love getting outside early in the morning to sing loudly (only one set of neighbors to wake up), and to imagine what it was like on that first resurrection morning. We sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," and Emmery joined in on the "alleluia" parts. :)

Some of our dear friends were able to join us for Easter dinner and it was so sweet to hear each child present share what character they would like to be in the Easter story. Calvin, Abigail, and Easton recited a portion of the Gospel in poetry form from this gem: A Gospel Primer for Christians.

We were also blessed to have Dan's dad join us for a couple of days!

I don't have any photos to blow you away, because Emmery is much more interested in seeing images on the camera than in being one of those images. :)

Easton grabs Emmery for a quick picture:

My attempt at catching a photo of my sweet children before we headed out the door to church:

Papa enjoying some time with his grandchildren:

Emmery loves her Papa and was happy to have him read to her from her ABC Scripture book!

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... 

A Morning to Remember

On Easter Sunday morning, all three kids and I joined with One Voice (a Lakes Region performing arts group) to present A Morning to Remember.  After months of practicing twice a week (and every day at home!), it was exciting to present the true story of Easter to around 600 people in our capital city.  Many, many people responded to the clear presentation of the hope of the Gospel.  Pictures never do justice to a live show, but for our family's remembering (and for grandparents, too), here are a few photos and videos.

Opening song - Abigail was a dancer on stage (not shown in this pic.)  Loved Calvin's expressions!  Easton and I are on the far left.

My brother, Nathaniel, singing a solo

Abigail (right) during the Lord's Prayer

Jesus feeding Abigail a grape

Jesus feeding Calvin an entire mouth full of grapes (that got quite a laugh from the audience!)

Calvin acting as the little boy who brought his lunch to Jesus for the feeding of the Five Thousand (then we took baskets of pita bread and distributed it to the audience.)

The only reason we can celebrate the resurrection is because of Christ's sacrificial death on the cross.

I was definitely pushed out of my comfort zone in learning the choreography.  This song with the streamers, a celebration of the resurrection, was my favorite.

The finale

Abigail and friends back stage

My handsome boys ready for action!

I was thankful to work alongside my kids  - they were amazing!

Nathaniel's solo (video below)

 

Easton dancing at the wedding in Cana (just click the icon in the lower right corner to view full screen)

The finale with Calvin dancing front and center on the floor.  The kids still do this dance almost daily!

Easter Resources (and do you have any to share?)

We love this time of the year - when we can focus specifically on our Savior's life, death, and resurrection! We have been using Lenten Lights for our readings. It's a great (free!) resource from Desiring God Ministries. We started out with seven candles, and are counting down the weeks to Easter, snuffing out one candle each week, so that there is less and less light. Then, on Easter Sunday, we'll light all of the candles!
The kids love to have all of the lights turned off, so it looks like this:
But with the flash on the camera, you can see Dan and the kids singing from Passion Hymns for a Kid's Heart. We pull this book out each year for the weeks leading up to Easter and we love singing along with the CD songs like The Old Rugged Cross, At the Cross, What a Savior, etc.
We have also used Family Life's Resurrection Eggs in recent years. This year, we're going to have Abigail and Calvin use them with Easton the week before Easter. It will be perfect for Easton, and a great teaching opportunity for Calvin and Abigail.

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter is an excellent compilation of various sermons/writings pertaining to the Easter story. Dan and I appreciated using this on our own (not with the kids) last year and plan to read sections of it again this year.

What are you doing to celebrate this Easter season? We always love to get new ideas, so please share any resources/readings/etc. you've found to help make the most of this season. Thanks!

What Can Wash Away My Sin?

We have so enjoyed this Lenten season and the opportunity it affords us to intentionally focus our thoughts each day on the sacrifice of our Savior. Most evenings after dinner we light the candles in the center of our table (we began with 6, and light one less each week - then on Easter morning we'll light all 6 of them!). Then this year we chose to read The Jesus Storybook Bible - Every Story Whispers His Name (we highly recommend this resource for any time of year). Each year we've done something different and will continue to customize our plan based on the kids ages/maturity. And one of our favorite parts is singing a passion hymn - sometimes acapella, or sometimes using the Passion Hymns for a Kid's Heart CD. Easton is learning right along with the rest of us and we love to hear his sweet voice! The other night he asked me if we could sing about "the blood of Jesus." I wish I could have captured it his first time through because that was the best, but he was still cute when I asked him if I could video him, so here's the little clip. We love to watch the message of this song taking root in his heart and can't wait to watch it bloom as he grows!